https://www.amherst.edu/ en https://www.amherst.edu/academiclife/departments/courses/0910F/FYSE/FYSE-24-0910F/syllabus/node/127936 <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Syllabus</span> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Nicholas C. Darnton (inactive)</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2009-09-13T13:43:01-04:00" title="Sunday, September 13, 2009, at 1:43 PM" class="datetime">Sunday, 9/13/2009, at 1:43 PM</time> </span> <div class="field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>Course meets T Th 11:30-12:50 in Merrill 403.</p><p>Professor Nicholas Darnton</p><p>Office: Merrill 118, ph. 542-2593</p><p>Office hours: MF 10-11.</p><h4>Texts</h4><ol><li>Peter J. Bowler and Iwan Rhys Morus , <i>Making Modern Science: A Historical Survey</i>, U. Chicago Press, 2005, ISBN: 0226068617</li><li>John Grant, <i>Corrupted Science</i>, Facts, Figures &amp; Fun, 2007,&nbsp; ISBN: 1904332730</li><li>Robert Park, <i>Voodoo Science</i>, Oxford University Press, 2001, ISBN: 0195147103</li><li>Eugenie Samuel Reich, <i>Plastic Fantastic</i>, Palgrave Macmillan 2009, ISBN 0230224679</li></ol><p>All texts are available from Amherst Books.</p><h4>Topics / course outline</h4><ol><li>“The” scientific method<ul><li>How do we define “proper” science?</li></ul></li><li>Obsolete science<ul><li>Scientific theories that were once true but are now false.</li></ul></li><li>Statistics, probability and proof<ul><li>The limits of scientific proof in the real, messy world.</li></ul></li><li>Bad medicine<ul><li>Quackery through the ages.</li></ul></li><li>Gray areas and pseudoscience<ul><li>Disciplines that may or may not qualify as science.</li></ul></li><li>Fraud in science<ul><li>The slippery slope from slipshod science to falsification.</li></ul></li><li>Politics and ideology in science<ul><li>Unscientific forces driving science.</li></ul></li><li>Ethics in science<ul><li>Should some science be rejected for moral reasons?</li></ul></li><li>Popularization, experts and common sense<ul><li>Credentials and expertise <i>versus</i> common sense and the wisdom of crowds.</li></ul></li></ol><h4>Grading</h4><table border="0"><tbody><tr><td align="right">3 or 4 short essays (3-4 pages)</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>3-4 pages</td><td>&nbsp;</td><td>30%</td></tr><tr><td align="right">Midterm paper</td><td></td><td>8-10 pages</td><td></td><td>20%</td></tr><tr><td align="right">Final paper</td><td></td><td>12-15 pages</td><td></td><td>30%</td></tr><tr><td align="right">Participation</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td>20%</td></tr></tbody></table><p>To encourage development of good writing skills, I will grade with equal weight allocated to content and expression.&nbsp; I encourage you to edit and resubmit essays for possible improvement in your grade.<br><br>I hope that we will have healthy disagreements over the course of the semester, ideally with strong feelings on opposite sides.&nbsp; Though I will expect you to defend your opinions, I will not punish you for disagreeing with me or anyone else.&nbsp; I do expect politeness and courtesy during class discussions.</p><h4>Intellectual Responsibility</h4><p>Course grading depends principally on your written work.&nbsp; You may freely discuss what you plan to write with anyone, including your peers in the class, but every word submitted must be your own.&nbsp; Plagiarism, whether from a peer or a published source, is extremely serious.&nbsp; To avoid inadvertent plagiarism, once you start writing you should stop discussing the assignment with others in the class; in particular, do not exchange drafts with fellow students.&nbsp; You may seek third-party advice on grammar and editing, but this should be limited to revision of a draft written, originally, entirely by you. &nbsp;<br><br></p></div> Sun, 13 Sep 2009 17:43:01 +0000 ndarnton 127936 at https://www.amherst.edu